The Middle East’s Most Attractive Employers 2016

The Middle East’s Most Attractive Employers 2016

Posted by Jonas Barck on 19/12/2016

Whilst Google, Microsoft and Apple Dominate, Emaar is the Highest Ranked Local Firm in the Middle East by Business and Engineering/IT Talent

Stockholm, December 21 – Business and Engineering students across the 6 key markets in the Middle East (Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia) have chosen their favorite employers. More than 13,000 Middle Eastern millennials in Universum’s Talent Survey have ranked the companies they find most desirable for employment, and the results delivered some valuable insights.

Top Three Career goals

Across all six countries, in both fields of study having work/life balance made its way in to the top three career goals for talent in the Middle East.

With the exception of business talent from Lebanon and Qatar, to be entrepreneurial or creative/innovative, was a top three career goal for all other business talent in the region. Business talent from Qatar are the only group in the Middle East who chose to be dedicated to a cause or feel that I am serving a great good as a top 3 career goal, whereas business talent from Lebanon where the only group in the region who chose to be a leader or manager of people. Tobesecure and stable in my job was in the top three career goals for all business talent in the Middle East apart from Lebanon and Egypt.

With the exception of Qatar, all engineering/IT talent in the Middle East chose to have a work/life balance and to be entrepreneurial or creative/innovative in their top three career goals. For Engineering/IT talent from Qatar having a work/life balance is their top career goalbut their quest for having an international career is more significant to them than being entrepreneurial or creative/innovative. Tobesecure and stable in my job was a top three career goal for talent in most countries apart from Lebanon who instead chose to be a leader or manager of people and Egypt who chose toan international career as their third most important career goal.

Middle East Rankings Top Ten: Business and Engineering/IT

The rankings for both Business and Engineering talent are dominated by global players, however some local firms made their way in to the top ten.

On this year’s Engineering/IT ranking, Google and Microsoft take the top two spots, followed by Apple and IBM. In fifth place, the UAE real estate development company, Emaar, is the highest placed local firm on the both of the Middle East’s rankings. Schlumberger sits in sixth place, followed by Intel, Oracle and GE. In tenth place the state owned Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Saudi Aramco, caps off the Engineering/IT top ten.

On the Business ranking Google, Apple and Microsoft take the top three spots followed by the L’Oréal Group and EY at fifth place. Unilver sits in sixth placed followed by Emaar, this time the only firm from the Middle East in the top ten. KPMG and Nestlé stand in eighth and ninth place, respectively, followed by Procter & Gamble in tenth place.

Methodology

13,873 business and engineering students weighed in on what companies and employer characteristics they find most attractive. Latin America’s Most Attractive Employer companies must rank in the top 90% of employers within at least three regional markets. If an employer is not listed or is ranked outside the top 90% in a market, it gets a default ranking which is equal to the position of the last company in the top 90% for that market. Results are weighted by GDP, so that a high ranking position in Saudi Arabia has a greater influence than a high ranking position in Lebanon, for example.

About Universum

ACCESS THE NEW WORLD OF TALENT. Universum is a global leader in employer branding. Over the past 30 years, we have established ourselves in 50 markets globally and our diverse workforce is physically present in 20 countries. Our services include actionable research, strategic consulting, and data-driven communications and social media solutions for talent branding, sourcing, and analytics. We are a trusted partner to over 1,700 clients, including many Fortune 500 companies, as well as to global media partners that publish our annual rankings and trend reports. We work with over 2,000 universities, alumni groups, and professional organizations to gather insights from students and professionals in order to advise employers on how to attract and retain talent that fits their culture and purpose. On an annual basis, Universum surveys over 1,500,000 students and professionals worldwide. Find out more at www.universumglobal.com